Figuring out Gift of the Magi

The first 2 sentences, do those make sense?

It does. It does.

Okay. Let's go sentence by sentence. That's always my technique for figuring things out. Be wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones. Does that part make sense?

Well, if yes, or did they give wise gifts? And so in that case, yes. Because it's saying that they gave wise gifts. I don't know what that means. Just good gifts?

That's a good question. What's the difference? What does wise mean?

Maybe— I'm not sure. Wise can— I guess if someone is wise, I would think they have a lot of knowledge from experience. Like they're wise in the arts of this or that. But a wise gift could be something that's good for that person. Like if they're doing this, and if maybe I'm getting into drawing, then maybe a wise gift would be a charcoal pencil or something like that.

Okay, let's just hold. So I can see why wise as wise person seems to make sense to you, but you're kind of trying to figure out what a wise gift is. But let's just, let's Just leave that as your hypothesis, that wise gift is maybe the right gift for the person. Does that seem like a reasonable hypothesis?

Yes, or one that makes sense to me anyways.

Okay, fair enough. So being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. This clause might be a little bit confusing. What do you think that means?

Um, well, bearing the— just in case it doesn't duplicate. Um, well, maybe if someone tried to— I don't know if the gifts were physical or mental or something like that, but I'm just assuming that they're physical in this case because duplication— I guess you could duplicate the gift. That's probably not what it means.

Um, so have you ever gotten two of the same thing, uh, on a holiday?

Uh, I don't think I have, but I know someone who has.

Yeah, if they got two of the same thing, I mean, like, if it's two boxes of candy, they can probably eat both boxes of candy. But it's maybe two of the same game, they probably don't want to keep both copies of the same game. So does it make sense they might want to exchange one of them?

Yes, it does.

And, you know, a lot of stores will let you exchange things. You can go back and trade it in. So the way, the way I'm, um, understanding this is that when he says possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication, um, he's saying maybe they can give them back, which I think must be— I think he's being funny because I think back in the day, you know, they didn't have stores and so forth. So I think that's O. Henry being funny. Does it make sense that it— I think one of the reasons it doesn't make sense to you is because he's deliberately juxtaposing this modern thing of returning gifts to the store with, you know, 2,000 years ago, giving— the wise men giving baby Jesus a gift. Do you see? It's kind of a little bit weird and deliberately a little bit weird.

Yes.

Okay. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. Does that sentence make sense?

I think so, because it talks about the story, um, and I know the story, and that helps.

Why do you think he says "lamely related to you"?

I'm not sure. Does that mean that he thinks that he did a bad job? That's Lame. Lame.

Yeah, to do something lamely is to do it not very well. Why do you think he would say that he did a bad job?

I don't— I mean, I don't know why he's— I don't know. Maybe— I don't know, maybe it's because he thought that that's— it's a— I guess he could think that that story wasn't good. It says uneventful chronicle. Um, you know, other than that, I don't know. It's— I don't know why he would do that.

Do you think it was an uneventful chronicle or not?

Oh, I mean, it got pretty exciting when I found out that the woman was going to sell her hair. I mean, not really.

Okay. Um, do you know what it means to be ironic? Have you ever heard of irony?

I have, and I've used it in my day-to-day language a few times, but I think it means like, oh, just to give an example, oh, where were you born? Oh, I was born at this hospital. Oh, me too. That's an example of irony in a way.

Got it.

So it's a coincidence.

Right. Some people, sometimes ironic can be used kind of as coincidence. But there's another, do you know what, there are different kinds of ways people explain, I'm tempted to say humor, but that's not quite right. Do you know what sarcasm is?

Yes, I do.

How would you explain sarcasm?

When somebody is trying to convey a message by saying the opposite thing most of the time, and in a weird— or not in a weird way, but kind of in a humorous way.

Okay. Um, and I would say irony is similar to that, except sarcasm is often mean or harsh, whereas irony tends to be kind of gentle and funny in a certain sense. So when I read, "I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children," first of all, would you describe them as foolish children?

Oh, I don't know if I'd— I mean, they're kind of foolish. They once I mean, they sold their prized possessions to give the other one a gift that they couldn't use because they sold that prized possession. That's kind of foolish, even though they didn't know it.

Okay. And then who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. Would you agree most unwisely that they sacrificed these treasures for each other?

Well, I, I think, I think it's kind of— I think that was kind of unwise. I guess they could have like checked if you're gonna sell this to get that, because I think that if you'd thought about it for a little bit, you could probably tell that the man was also gonna give the woman a gift. And that you could also tell that he didn't have enough money to buy something, so he sells something too and kind of foresee that. I guess it is kind of unwise.

Okay, let's, let's go to the next sentence then. But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. So he was saying they're unwise, now he's saying they're the wisest. How can they both be unwise and the wisest?

Well, they were— maybe it's because they were unwise by selling their most prized possessions, but then wise when they gave each other gifts.

I mean, do you think that they were in fact wise, or do you think it was just stupid all around?

Um, well, I guess it's Christmas giving gifts. I guess you would want to do that, so it's not really just stupid all around, but I think, I think it is pretty unwise, um, that they lost something and then gained something that they couldn't use.

So then he emphasizes this in the next sentence: of all who give and receive gifts such as they are wisest. So again, he's saying they're the wisest. Do you think that he is joking or kidding or lying, or why would he claim that they're the wisest given that they seem pretty foolish?

And I mean, he could then— he could claim that they were unwise and then wise in different ways. Like I said, they were wise maybe to give each other gifts and then unwise to sell their prized possession. But I think that's all I got.

Okay, that's okay. If it's wise to give gifts, maybe they should have given a different gift. If they were wiser, do you think they should have found some other gift to give?

I mean, that I mean, I don't know if I'd call it wise though, because they wouldn't be giving the best gift possible, and then he or she would probably feel really bad.

So you just said something before. You said they were wise simply to give a gift. Then I asked if they would have been wiser to give a different gift. And now it sounds like you're saying they would not have been wiser to give a different gift because they would not have been giving the best gift possible. Are you now saying that the gifts they gave were the best gift possible and therefore wise gifts?

I think so, yes, in a way.

So do you see now you were saying they were unwise and now you're saying they're wise. Which is it?

Well, I think, I honestly think it's kind of both. Just taking from what he said, wise and unwise also. I mean, wise in the fact that, like you just said, that they chose the best gift that they could possibly give. Or what they thought of, um, besides just selling a few pennies or giving a few pennies to get like a candy or something. I don't know if they had that, but I think that would be wise but also unwise that they sold— they just willingly sold everything, or the majority of what they owned, pretty much. Not the majority, but their favorite thing.

Um, well, that makes sense. Um, everywhere they are the wisest, they are the Magi. Why would he conclude— well, first, everywhere they are the wisest, what does he mean by everywhere they are the wisest?

Everywhere they go? I, I'm not sure. And this, the part, one of the parts that I didn't understand about the last few sentences I didn't know if he was talking about the couple or just an entirely different person.

This is where it's good to look at the grammar. So, let's see. I always like to go back to a place in a paragraph where it's perfectly clear what's going on, because I can see why it gets confusing later on. So if I back up a little bit, to the sentence starting, but in a last word to the wise of these days. So a last word to the wise of these days, I take that to mean people who are wise. Let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two— I take it these two people— were the wisest. Does that make sense?

Yes. So he was talking about the man and the woman, not the any other person.

At this point. But then if we look at the next sentence, of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. What does he mean by such as they?

Well, such as another person. So such as not the woman and man. So he's talking about somebody else.

So everywhere they are the wisest, what they does that they refer to?

Well, it says at the end, they are the Magi. So probably the Magi.

So you think all of a sudden he went from talking about the couple, um, to— in the previous sentence you said such as they was— explain what you meant such as they meant.

Well, I, I, I would think just automatically that since he was saying such as they they as in another group or another person. And then he's saying at the end, they are the Magi. So I guess one would think that he, he was talking about the Magi.

So I— this feels a little bit confusing to me. We're talking about the two people, and then we're talking about some other they, and then we're talking about the Magi whom we haven't mentioned since the beginning of the paragraph. But that's how you understand it? It goes It sounds like, according to your interpretation, it goes kind of suddenly from the husband and wife to the Magi, and I'm not quite getting the logic for how it goes to the Magi. Does it seem a little bit incoherent to you?

Yeah, it does. It does, definitely.

Okay. So, I want to add one word to the sentence: of all who give and receive gifts, 'People such as they are the wisest.' So the sentence before, 'In a last word to the wise, let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two, the husband and wife, are wisest. Then of all who give and receive gifts, people such as they are the wisest.' Do you think people who, such as the couple, are wise?

Just, um, in the story or just overall?

Overall.

Overall. Um, I mean, I think in a way, yes.

So going back to what you had said earlier was they were maybe unwise to give gifts that the other person couldn't use, but of course they didn't know that at the time. But then you had said they were wise to give the best possible gift for each other they could give. Is that correct?

Yes.

Do you think that if people give the best possible gift to somebody else, then they're wise?

Maybe not all the time. Like, if one gave somebody their toy or something that they wanted, but maybe it, um, Well, eh, and they were unwise to maybe spend all their money on it, like, like, kind of like what the couple did, then they'd be sort of wise and unwise. I mean, okay, so I'm not sure it's really—

Maybe when he says people such as they are wisest, they're actually kind of stupid for spending all their money on these gifts.

Yeah. Yes. Unwise.

Okay. So another possibility is maybe you simply disagree with O. Henry. You know that O. Henry is claiming they're wise, but you are concluding they are unwise. Is that a possibility?

I think that is. Yeah.

Okay. So in which case, we could get inside his head and try to figure out what he means inside his head. Even if we disagree or you disagree. Does that seem like a reasonable way? So let's try to figure out what he meant. So of all who give gifts, he's claiming that people such as they are wisest, and you kind of disagree, right?

Oh yes, if he's talking about the couple, I mean, they're like I said, they're pretty unwise to not think about the future and what might happen, not think about if the other one also sold their most prized possession, being hasty.

Okay, so everywhere they are wisest, that they— I would say it's people such as they, that is people who give the gift that is most valued by the other person. And you're disagreeing that those people are not necessarily the wisest.

Yeah. Yes.

If he's saying people such as the ones who give the gift that's most desired, then what would grammatically the they refer to?

If he was just talking about the couple, well, they Oh, I guess they would be talking about the couple if they— I think grammatically.

So I, I'll go ahead and give you my interpretation. So I, I think they are the Magi. So of all who give and receive gifts, people such as they are the wisest. That they, that they refers to the class of people who give the gift that's most desired by the person you're giving to. Um, makes sense. Call them wise gift givers. Everywhere they, the wise gift givers, are the wisest. And then I would say he's saying they, the wise gift givers, are the Magi.

Okay, yeah, that makes sense.

And so it's a little bit confusing because he doesn't mean the Magi literally, insofar as he started by talking about the Magi, the wise men who gave Jesus gifts 2,000 years ago. I would say he's not literally talking about the Magi 2,000 years ago. He's talking about wise people who give wise gifts, and he's— right, and he's claiming that Noting that you disagree. He's claiming that people that give gifts that, um, are that which the other person most will— well, I want to look at it a different way, um, but you see where I'm going, right? In terms of why you would call them the Magi.

Um, I understand that. Or is that what you're asking me?

Yeah, that's what I'm asking.

Well, if he's, if he was just talking about how the Magi were really wise and he's calling the wise gift, wise gift givers Magi. Yeah, I think so.

Okay. So you had said, you described the gifts that they gave each other as, I think you said the gift the other person most wants. Is that what you said?

Well, yeah, most wanted or the and, and or the person's thought that the other person would want it, like it needed.

Okay. I'm going to use— I'm not going to disagree with you, but I'm going to phrase it in a different way. What if a wise gift is evidence that you really love and care about somebody else? Would you be happy if you got a gift that really made you feel as if somebody really loved and cared about you?

Yes. Yes, I think everyone would.

I, I think so too. But you could also imagine a gift where they're clueless that you don't like such and such. People give you such and such, and you're way too polite to say this, but inside your head you might think, what were they thinking? I don't like this. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

So, and I'm, I'm rephrasing it as evidence that they really love and care about you because I think that That helps me understand why I might call them wise a bit more than just something that you want. So it's one thing, it's kind of the same thing, but it's one thing to say, oh, this is the gift Alana wants. It's a different thing to say, wow, this is evidence this person really, you know, sees me, knows me, and cares about me. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does.

So Are you happier thinking about that, describing these as wise gift givers, if they really know the other person and care about the other person and their gift shows?

Yes, I hadn't thought about that. I hadn't thought about that.

Okay, but it's not too much of a stretch, right? I'm in some ways, I'm just changing the way you see it a little bit. When you described them as giving gifts that they thought the other person would want. It's also knowing that they see and understand and care about that person. Make sense?

Mhm. Yes.

Yeah. Um, so do you still disagree with O. Henry or not as much?

Not as much now that you've said that.

Okay. Does the last paragraph make a bit more sense to you?

It does.

Okay. Yeah, this is tricky. I think he's— part of it is he's using— actually, I want to go back to one thing when he said, "I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children." There, I think he's being ironic in the sense that he actually means the opposite of what he's saying. He's trying to be humorous. Because he wants to convince you that these people seem foolish but are actually wise. Would you buy that? That they seem foolish but are actually wise?

I think so, yeah.

And in which case, when he says the uneventful chronicle, you said it was pretty exciting at one point, so it's not exactly uneventful. And so even when he says lamely, maybe he's joking around and actually he thinks it is kind of a clever story that's interesting of two wise people who appear foolish. And when he says, who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house, but even while they were doing that, they wisely showed that they cared about each other.

Yes, yes.

Okay.

I— yeah, no explanation.

Okay. Um, yeah, you know, as I think as you get older and more experienced as a reader, all of these things will make sense. Um, but you can see this final paragraph has all these twists and turns. Um, he's kind of playing with your mind, you know, in terms of foolish-wise, foolish-wise, you know. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does.

Okay. In which case, I will let you go, and I hope you have a great week this week in your whole life, including class, and see you next week. Okay?

Yeah, thank you, Michael. Bye. See you next week.